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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27514537">The Neophyte</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyExWifeStillMissesMe1/pseuds/MyExWifeStillMissesMe1'>MyExWifeStillMissesMe1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Neophyte Trilogy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Apprentice Dipper Pines, Dipper Pines has PTSD, Dismemberment, Gen, Magic, PTSD, Part 1, Post-Weirdmageddon, The Crawlspace, The multiverse, Tyrone is kinda like Dipper’s guardian angel, Wendy and Soos get left behind, doesn’t have any plot relevance, facial scarring, just couldn’t fit them in anywhere, just thought it would be neat, sorry - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 04:33:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27514537</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyExWifeStillMissesMe1/pseuds/MyExWifeStillMissesMe1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After accepting Ford’s apprenticeship, Dipper receives a startling vision of a dystopian future. Now he must go to great lengths to save the world from the menace that is The Man in Black...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dipper Pines &amp; Ford Pines &amp; Mabel Pines &amp; Stan Pines, Dipper Pines &amp; Wendy Corduroy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Neophyte Trilogy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A few things I feel I need to clarify:<br/>1) I loved the ending to Gravity Falls, but I also love Apprentice!Dipper stories and had a spark of inspiration.<br/>2) I don’t own Gravity Falls.<br/>3) This will also be put up on Fanfiction.net under the same name.<br/>4) This is part one of three interconnected stories that I have dubbed the ‘Neophyte Trilogy.”<br/>5) There’s a big twist in chapter eight, so see if you can figure it out.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper makes his choice.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gravity Falls was on fire. The quirky town was in ruins, the once great clock tower blown to pieces. A charcoal black triangle floated under a giant tear in the sky, it’s yellow cement structure glowing in the light. A demonic laugh echoed through the valley, cracking some glass in the process.</p><p>“HAHAHAHA! GO NUTS GUYS!” Bill shouted. “WHEN WE’RE DONE PARTYING, I UNVEIL PHASE TWO!”</p><p>Suddenly, someone banged on the door. “Open up!” a man shouted. “This is the police. The time police.”</p><p>“JUST PLAY IT COOL, DITCH THE TIME PUNCH. LET ME DO THE TALKING.”</p><p>“Bill Cipher,” Lolph said. “You are in violation of the laws of space time, and possessing the body of a time officer.”</p><p>“My body is a temple! How dare you!”</p><p>Time Baby spoke, “hear this, Cipher.”</p><p>“UGH,” Bill moaned. “TIME BABY.”</p><p>Time baby responded by raising his Michelin-man arms and projecting a hologram of the universe. “If your rip in this dimension continues, it could destroy the very fabric of existence!” The universe exploded in a silent boom. “Surrender now or face my tantrum!”</p><p>“OH NO, A TANTRUM! WHATEVER WILL I DO ABOUT THAT—” Bill quickly raised his arm and pointed his index finger at the small army standing outside his door—“HOW ABOUT THIS!” A bright blue laser burst out of his finger and raced at Time Baby. The blast seemed to hit it’S target almost immediately, causing a deafening rumble to echo through the Falls. Down in the caves below, dust fell from the ceiling, landing on the shoulders of a man made of stone. A man turned to stone many centuries ago, sitting in a cave in the human world. A man banished to the dead end of the universe.</p><p>A small crack echoed throughout the tight cavern as a hairline crack appeared on the man’s forehead.</p>
<hr/><p>A large purple bubble wrapped in chains floated in the middle of the Gravity Falls cliffs. A shooting star emblem glowed on the front.</p><p>Before the bubble burst.</p><p>Waddles leaped out of the ruins and landed on the cliff side, riders hopping off. Dipper, Wendy and Soos quickly hugged Mabel.</p><p>“We’ve missed you Mabel!” Soos sobbed.</p><p>Mabel smiled brightly as she was released from the hug. Dipper had began to walk off when she tugged on his sleeve. “Hey, Dipper,” she said. “I appreciate what you said back there, but if you want to take Ford’s apprenticeship, I won’t get in your way.”</p><p>“Thank you Mabel,” Dipper smiled. “Thank you so, so much.”</p><p>Mabel was speechless. She was expecting him to say something like <em>‘and miss out on your awkward teen years? You wish.’</em> This wasn’t how it was was supposed to go! “Ha,” she faked a smile and punched Dipper in the shoulder. “You’re welcome Dip-dop.”</p>
<hr/><p>“What?” Helen Pines said in confusion, he auburn hair swinging as she turned around. “You want Dipper to go live in somewhere we’ve never been, with one uncle who we barely know and another that we didn’t even know existed? After Stan lied about his identity?”</p><p>“I’m saying that it could be good for Dipper,” Bob replied. “Both of them seem very close with the uncles.”</p><p>“He’s a kid, he needs to be going to school!”</p><p>“He was the smartest kid in middle school and elementary. What makes you think that this will be any different?”</p><p>“It’s high school. Every kid should go through high school.”</p><p>“You hated high school!” Bob shouted.</p><p>“At the time! But now I realise that it was a—”</p><p>“Don’t pull that ‘it was a good experience in retrospect’ bullcrap. You’re lying to yourself!”</p><p>Helen’s mouth opened and closed a few times like a goldfish of sorts, before she said, “you’re right about the school thing. And don’t make a big deal out of it.”</p><p>Bob raised his hands and bit his lip. “I won’t!” <em>I will…</em> he thought.</p><p>“But I just don’t think the twins should be seperated. They’re twins and Dipper’s too young to be thinking about leaving home.”</p><p>“He’s always been more grown up than everyone else. We should have seen this coming.”</p><p>“Maybe.” Helen conceded. “I thought it would be a fun holiday for the summer, not the rest of his life. And what about Mabel?”</p><p>“This is Dipper’s choice. I’m not saying that she can’t be sad about it, but this isn’t about her.”</p><p>“I know…”</p>
<hr/><p>Dipper sat on his bed looking around with a bittersweet smile on his face. He was gonna miss this place. Gravity Falls was home, but his room would always have a sense of nostalgia to it. All the times he and Mabel built a blanket fort, all the times Mabel had a nightmare and spent the night in his bed. All those memories happened here. That time he stayed up all night to finish an English essay that he had been putting off for weeks, or when Mabel had first came up with Mr Upsidedownington. He sighed. As much as he was certain he was making the right decision, he knew the downsides. Mabel would be heartbroken, and he couldn’t blame her.</p><p>Looking around the room, he realised that this was the first time he had felt like himself since the puppet show. He shivered, remembering the incident. Gravity Falls was the most fun he’d ever had, but it had come at a cost. He was haunted by his traumas, they circled around his mind constantly. They hadn’t told their parents. Both sets of twins had decided that it was for the best if Dipper was to stay in the Falls.</p><p>“Dipper?”</p><p>He suddenly looked up to see his mother standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “Oh, hi,” he said, flustered.</p><p>“Come on.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Remember our little agreement before you left?”</p><p>Dipper chuckled and pulled a five dollar note out of his pocket as Helen walked over to him and sat down. “I might have enjoyed it a bit <em>too</em> much.”</p><p>“Yeah…” Helen said, her smile fading. “I was against you leaving at first. I’m still a bit iffy about it, but your father had a point.”</p><p>“So it’s a yes?” Dipper asked excitedly.</p><p>Helen held up her hands and responded, “a reluctant one. But, a yes.”</p><p>Dipper quickly jumped forward and embraced him mum in a bear hug, oblivious to how similar to Mabel he was when he was happy. “THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!”</p><p>“Alright, alright, you’re welcome you little gremlin,” Helen joked as she detached her son from her body. “I’ll start packing your things, because you’re hopeless at it, but I also think that there might be someone you need to talk to.”</p><p>Dipper let out a small sigh, he knew that he’d have to talk to Mabel at some point. “Okay.” And with that, he walked out of the room.</p>
<hr/><p>Sweater town wasn’t a very nice place to be in. Sure, she went there a lot, but only when she was really sad. She’d heard it. Everything. Her brother was leaving her. Leaving her in her time of need. She couldn’t deal with the trauma by herself, Dipper couldn’t! She wanted to be mad and shout at him and get all sappy, but as much as she hated Dipper’s departure, she knew that it was best for him. What she had said on that cliff was true: she wasn’t going to stop him.</p><p><em>Doesn’t mean I have to like it though,</em> she thought bitterly. Suddenly, her floorboard creaked. Mabel looked up in alarm, only to see Dipper standing in place, frozen like a deer in headlights. Her eyes flicked up towards him for a moment, before she once again buried her face in her sweater. She was barely aware of Dipper sitting down next to her. He said something that was muffled by the sweater, then pulled the neck down a few inches.</p><p>“Mabel, are you okay?” Mabel only shook her head in response. “I know this is gonna be hard for you,” Dipper said. “And it’s gonna be hard for me too.” Dipper bit his lip. “Come on, I promise you’ll be fine.” He looked around the room for a moment, then asked, “awkward sibling—” Mabel suddenly slammed into him and hugged him tightly—“MabelstopIcan’tbreathestahp get off!” he laughed. “Seriously I’m dying here.”</p>
<hr/><p>“Right, Helen said as she handed a duffel bag to Ford. “Don’t lose that.”</p><p>“I won’t lose anything…”</p><p>“Apart from when you got yourself captured by terrorists for thirty years.”</p><p>Ford gulped. That was their cover for his disappearance, one Stan had come up with on the spot. “That wasn’t my fault…”</p><p>“Why were you even in Asia anyway?”</p><p>Ford pulled at the collar of his turtleneck. “Uhhhh, well, I… went on holiday?”</p><p>Helen looked unimpressed. “Right.” She immediately handed the ageing scientist a huge camping backpack, causing him to fall over. “That was going to be a birthday present, but he’ll probably need it more at your place.”</p><p>“Yeah, probably,” Ford croaked as her lugged the bag over to Stan’s old El Diablo.</p><p>“Dipper, I want you to text me everyday, okay?” he heard Helen say over his grunting. “I want you to chat to Mabel often, she’ll need it. And stay safe.”</p><p>“Okay mum,” Dipper said.</p><p>Ford watched as Mabel ran over to her brother and hugged him, startling him. After Mabel pulled herself away, she jumped up to embrace Stan, who picked her off the floor and held her tightly. Ford walked over to them and rubbed the back off his neck. Mabel looked up for a moment, then buried her head in Stan’s shoulder once more.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Prologue: Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper finds someone to vent his frustration to.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The leaves on the trees rustled.</p><p>A manotaur growled in the distance.</p><p>The mud squelched beneath his feet.</p><p>Dipper took note of every sound, every movement. He took in the sights of the Gravity Falls wilderness, the breeze displacing his hair. He adjusted the pine tree cap on his head as he powered forward. He was wearing a black jacket, red shirt and long walking trousers. It was getting cold already. He’d only been back in the Falls for a few hours after an arduous car journey. Stan and Ford were unpacking his stuff.</p><p><em>I should probably help them with that,</em> he thought. <em>No.</em> He pushed the thought aside. There was something he needed to do first. He yelped as a his hand brushed a nettle, rubbing it. He was about to start yelling some choice words at an inanimate object when his eye caught something. He pushed branch out of the way to get a better look at it.</p><p>Bill’s statue.</p><p>It sat in the middle of a large clearing, wedged in the ground. Dipper remembered when Ford had first told him about it. He had tried to ease him in, but it hadn’t helped. He was still on edge, thinking that somehow, Bill was still in there. He was so worried about a dead enemy returning that he was oblivious to a rising new one. They all were. If Dipper knew, he could stop it. But the time was not right, so he remained oblivious. He did so as he walked towards the statue, his hands trembling. His breaths were fast and rapid and his backpack weighed on his shoulders. He pulled the bag off and placed it down on the grass whilst he sat on a convenient tree stump.</p><p>“You know,” he said after a moment of silence. “I used to think that I would enjoy being a monster hunter. Before all…” He gestured to the woods surrounding him. “This. But now I realise that I wouldn’t want that. Yeah I’m staying here, but not to hunt creatures. I’m here to study them. I was kinda weird before Gravity Falls. And during my stay my life was still relatively normal. Then you came along,” Dipper’s voice was hinted with venom. “And changed it forever. And not in a good way. I’m glad it happened,” he confessed. “Weirdmageddon. If it didn’t happen then you would still be out there!” He shivered at the thought. “But… I don’t really know who I’d be if it never happened. Certainly not here, that’s for sure. I’d be back in California, miserable…”</p><p>“With Mabel,” he said. “I think I made the right choice, but I guess I’ll just have to find out!” His smile softened a little. “I already miss her. And mum and dad.” He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a photo he had taken before Gravity Falls. It was of him, Mabel, Helen and Bob posing for an obligatory family picture that could be put on all the Christmas cards and sent out to all their relatives. “But I can’t go back. Gravity Falls is my home,” Dipper conceded before getting up, giving the statue one last look and walking off.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the shorter update, they’ll get longer as the story goes on.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Prologue: Part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mabel reminisces on days gone past.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mabel’s worst nightmare had come true.</p><p>Dipper had left her. He’d left her. She’d woke up thinking that it was some crazy dream and that he’d stayed, but she was disappointed. She should be happy for him. He was happy now.</p><p>Without her. This was what Mabel thought about as she walked through the school hallway mindlessly. She just wanted him stay. Who cares if he wasn’t happy here? Who cares if she’s never seen him so alive?</p><p><em>I do,</em> she realised. <em>I care. But I’m not sure if it’s a good idea in the long run! But he’s happy, right?</em></p><p>Then Mabel realised: she missed him. She missed him so much. Why couldn’t he just stay? Surely he hadn’t been that miserable before the summer? Right?</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>1 Year Earlier</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mabel walked through the hallway with a quick pace, if she didn’t hurry she’d be late to class. She’d just had P.E., of course she was going to be late! Suddenly, she heard a banging coming from one of the lockers. She looked over, curious. It was Dipper’s locker (they had managed to get two right next to each other). Walking over, she fiddled with the padlock and turned the number dials to 6, 1 and 8. She pulled the lock off and the door opened, revealing Dipper sitting in there, looking a bit worse for the wear. He had a black eye and the word ‘freak’ written across his forehead in red marker. There were also a few scratches on his hands.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Dipper, ohmygosh, are you okay?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yes,” Dipper replied, his voice croaky. “Definitely.” He then immediately fell out of the locker and flat on his face. “Absolutely not. Ow.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mabel grabbed her brother and sat him up against the wall. “What happened?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Nothing, I just…” Dipper said. “I just fell in my locker. And locked it from the inside.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Who did this?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No one.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Dip, if you just told me I could he—”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t want you to help me,” Dipper said as he got up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“But you’re hurt!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ll take care of it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mabel put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “You don’t want people to see me helping you, do you?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No! Well, yes, but no, but yes, and – ugh!” Dipper put his hands to his face and muttered something incoherent. “I don’t want you to be late to class.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t care about class, I want you to be okay.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“People already pick on me, but now they make fun of me because I need my sister to help me with it.” He turned to walked away, then stopped. “I just don’t want you to make it worse.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mabel bit her lip and walked over to Dipper, pulling at the back of his coat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Dipper, I—” then she stopped herself. If Dipper really wanted to be alone, then she’d just talk to him later. There was no point trying when he was like this. He didn’t mean any of it, he was just in a bit of a mood.</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Present</p><p>Maybe he had. Maybe he did hate it here. He didn’t have a single friend (he’d later told her that he’d mentioned to Ford that Wendy was the first friend he’d ever made).</p><p>Stupid Grunkle Ford. Her life just went down the toilet when he arrived. He brought the end of the world with him, then took her brother away. She sighed. Dipper was going to get himself killed.</p><p>And she was going to be there to bring him back if he did.</p><p>Which was likely.</p><p>It was incredibly likely.</p>
<hr/><p>1 Year Later</p><p>“But Mum!” Mabel moaned. “You can’t come!”</p><p>“Well, I want to see Dipper again. He talked about the Falls constantly during Christmas dinner.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“No buts except yours in your room to pack.”</p><p>“I – I – no! Please!” moaned Mabel. “I don’t want you to come!”</p><p>“Well, I want to see my son, so sorry if I’m being unreasonable!” Helen shouted, her famously short temper getting the better of her. “I don’t know why you’re being so secretive, but I’m going to find out what happened there. I know that something happened.” She knelt down to Mabel’s level and smiled. “But I also know that you’re brother is tougher than he lets on. So come on!” Helen quickly stood up and walked out of the room, shouting, “nothing can stop Helen Pines!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Premonition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A new evil arises.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper looked around in confusion.<em> Where am I?</em> he thought. Some kind of street, that was for sure. Thousands of identical men wearing black robes and dark sunglasses lined the pavement. One stood in the middle, holding a limp woman with pale skin in his arms, who started to morph into a clone. The clone stood up. The other man finally spoke.</p><p>“Yes, yes. There we go.” His voice was flat, showing no emotion. It was almost robotic. “It’ll be over soon.”</p><p>“Nooooo!” Another voice shouted, this one a woman’s. “Aaaarrrgggghhhh!” she screamed as she flew at him.</p><p>Dipper’s surroundings started to blur, morphing into a more familiar setting. He was somewhere in the Falls’ forest. He recognised it.</p><p>“Auughhh!”</p><p>He recognised that voice. It was Ford’s. His uncle fell to the floor in front of him, clutching his arm.</p><p>“Grunkle Ford!” he heard his own voice shout.</p><p>The surroundings changed once more, this time to a market of sorts. It was filled with creatures of various shapes and sizes, from humanoid elf-things to walking heads.</p><p>“You,” Stan said.</p><p>Dipper turned around to see Stan clutching a bag of groceries, which he promptly dropped on the floor.</p><p>“Yes, me,” the man from earlier sneered. “The Man in Black.”</p><p>“Don’t take this lightly Dipper,” a loud voice said. “Or it could be the last mistake you could ever make.”</p><p>Dipper jolted up from his bed, breathing heavily. That was odd. Then again, he got weird dreams all the time (he’d once had a dream where flying monkeys tried to kill a duck in a top hat, so he was well used to them). He frowned for a second, then laid back down and thought nothing of it.</p>
<hr/><p>Mud squelched beneath Dipper’s feet as he trotted through the woods. The leaves on the trees glistened green and the light continually tried to sneak under the brim of his hat. He pulled it down a little, confident that they were going to get what they came for. He was wearing a navy shirt with a black leather jacket over the top, and walking trousers (the bottoms of which were caked in mud, as were his hiking boots).</p><p>“Ehh, Ford,” Stan said, awkwardly.</p><p>Ford replied, looking up from his journal, “yes?”</p><p>“What are we actually looking for here?”</p><p>“We’re looking for the fountain of youth. One is rumoured to be somewhere around these parts, the edge of the Falls!”</p><p>“Let me guess,” Dipper moved a branch out of his way. “It’s guarded by a monster of some kind that we have to defeat in order to gain eternal life, or whatever.”</p><p>“… yes,” Ford said. “It’s known only as the Phoenix and it will guard the fountain with it’s life.”</p><p>Stan kicked a small pebble that was laying in front of him. “Is it an actual pigeon, or—”</p><p>“Phoenix,” Dipper and Ford corrected in unison.</p><p>“Fine, Phoenix. Is it just called that or is it an actual Phoenix?”</p><p>“I’d reckon it’s not one,” Ford said. “They went extinct centuries ago.”</p><p>“I’ll take that bet,” Stan smirked. “Ten dollars.”</p><p>“Ohh,” Ford laughed. “You’re on.”</p><p>Dipper looked down at his map and traced his surroundings, pinpointing where there were. “Should be about a five minute walk,” he said. “If someone else hasn’t already stolen it, that is.”</p><p>“Not many people knew about the Falls back then Dipper,” Ford replied. “And those who did considered it cursed. The only reason Quentin Trembley liked it was because he was just as batshit insane as it was.”</p><p>“You should’ve met him,” Dipper joked. “You can’t even begin to imagine…” he trailed off as he remembered his dream.</p><p>
  <em>Don’t take this lightly Dipper.</em>
</p><p>The words echoed through his mind.</p><p>Maybe… it wasn’t a dream?</p><p><em>No,</em> he told himself. Gravity Falls was crazy, but he didn’t have precognition or anything. He’d realised that there was a limit to how weird things got in the year he’d lived there.</p><p>“I think we might be here,” Stan said.</p><p>“Ah, yes.” Ford picked a stick off the ground and pointed it forward as he rounded the final corner. “Stay behind me.”</p><p>Dipper pulled a laser gun out of his holster and held it up, whilst Stan pulled a shotgun off his back.</p><p>“Three, two, one,” Ford counted. “Now!” He rounded the corner to see a cracked, mossy fountain sitting in the middle of the clearing, near the cliff edge. “Ah, yes!” he cooed. “It’s…”</p><p>“Is it just me or does he look like a really happy owl right now?” Stan asked Dipper.</p><p>“I think it’s just you.”</p><p>Suddenly, the fountain started fading away. It was an illusion. A large, fiery bird rose from a hole underneath the fountain, setting the grass around it alight.</p><p>“Called it,” Stan smiled.</p><p>Dipper chuckled as Ford pulled a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to Stan, sighing as he did. “Let’s get on with it then,” the preteen said, before the three adventurers sprinted away in the opposite direction. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Soos’ number. “Get the hose!” he shouted as he ran, nearly slipping on some mud.</p><p>“And my crossbow!” Stan added.</p><p>Ford said, “also my magic arrow.”</p><p>“You have a magic arrow?” Dipper questioned as he righted himself. “Like Yondu’s?”</p><p>“No! It’s just an arrow that I designed to kill supernatural creatures, that’s all.”</p><p>“I’m out of shells!” Stan shouted. He proceeded to twirl his shotgun like it was a revolver and throw it at the pursuing Phoenix.</p><p>“We’re nearly at the Shack!” Dipper looked at his map, right before a splinter (set alight by the Phoenix) landed on it. “Dammit!” He threw the map away. “Just a few—”</p><p>“WHAT IN DISMAL DOWNS IS GOING ON HERE?!” Helen shouted as she got out of the car.</p><p>Dipper froze like a deer in headlights and turned around slowly. He winced, he had forgotten that Mabel was coming back for the summer due to all the Phoenix stuff. Mum and Dad were a surprise though. The Phoenix also froze in surprise as the Stans continued on to grab the hose.</p><p>“Hi mum,” Dipper smiled awkwardly. “I’m sure you—”</p><p>“I don’t care,” Helen seethed with rage. “Get away from that…” She looked at the Phoenix (which Stan and Ford were shooting with the hose as it flew away) in confusion and finished, “thing!”</p><p>“Mum, it’s fine, I—”</p><p>“DIPPER!” Mabel shouted as she ran towards her brother and wrapped him in a tight bear hug.</p><p>“Mabel, let go!” Dipper snapped. “We’ve kinda got a situation here!”</p><p>“Is that a laser gun?” Bob questioned as he got out of his car. He looked at the Phoenix. “Whatcha got there?”</p><p>Dipper glanced around uncomfortably for a second, before saying, “an… owl?”</p><p>“Right,” Bob sighed. “Well, you better explain yourself then.”</p>
<hr/><p>“Of course!” Helen shouted. “Of course it was the supernatural!”</p><p>“Well,” Bob defended. “It does make se—”</p><p>“No it doesn’t! None of this makes sense. None of it!”</p><p>“Well, it explains their sudden fear of triangles, the hatred of handshakes...”</p><p>“I know that. I mean, this stuff is supposed to be a myth. A myth, Bob, as in not real. I know it explains everything and I know that it does exist, but…” she trailed off. “I just don’t think that Dipper’s safe here.”</p><p>“He’s safer with Ford than he is guarded by the Terminator in Fort Knox.”</p><p>“Wasn’t he the bad guy?”</p><p>“You haven’t watched the second one have you?” Helen asked in disbelief (she and Dipper shared a love of films that Mabel and Bob didn’t).</p><p>“No, but that’s besides the point. I’ve never seen him so happy. I think we made the right call.”</p><p>Helen sighed. “We’ll sleep on it,” she said as she glanced over at the TV.</p><p>“This just in,” Shandra Jimenez picked up her papers. “A giant Phoenix has began terrorising the town, eyewitnesses say that it came from the Mystery Shack.”</p><p>“Of course it has…” Helen muttered.</p>
<hr/><p>A small clack echoed throughout the cavern as a pebble hit the floor, bouncing around for a second before settling at the feet of the statue. The statue suddenly began to vibrate and crumble, the hairline crack on it’s forehead enlarging at a rapid pace. It split in two, the man inside falling to his knees and gasping heavily.</p><p>“Augh!” he coughed, a small dust cloud emerging from his mouth. He wore a black cassock with a high collar. His receding brown hair was framed with a pair of angular sunglasses (approximated in the shape of an ellipse). He looked around the room slowly, standing up. He walked over to the wall and rubbed some dust off it. “Earth…” he muttered. “How did I – I was banished! Petrified.”</p><p><em>Wait,</em> he thought. <em>How did I get out of that… shell? It’s supposed to be permanent, if I got out… I don’t know what could break it. No matter. I will have my vengeance and I will claim my throne once and for all!</em></p><p>“And this time, I won’t let him stand in my way,” the Man in Black said with a confidence in his voice.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Raven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper and Mabel pursue a new threat.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I decided to put some more comedy in this chapter, so I hope it’s funny.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mabel walked up the stairs, holding her duvet in one hand and Waddles in the other.<em> He’s your brother,</em> she thought. <em>You two have shared a room for what, twelve years? Sure, he came over for Christmas and New Years, but that was for like a week! I haven’t seen him at all since then. I said hi then he had to run off and save the town again.</em> She bit her lip and chapped on the door. A few seconds later, Dipper opened the door.</p><p>“Oh, hi, Mabel,” he said, smiling weakly. “I was just gonna go to bed. You know, monster fight and all that.”</p><p>“I was going to set up in here.”</p><p>“Good. But be careful, my room’s kinda messy.” He pulled the door fully open, the moonlight bouncing off his cheek.</p><p>“What’s that?” Mabel said in shock, pointing at Dipper’s face. She was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before.</p><p>“Oh,” Dipper rubbed the back of his neck as he led Mabel into the room. “Just a scar from monster hunting. No big deal.”</p><p>The scar started at the right side of his neck, snaking up his jaw, where it was cut off. It continued over the bridge of his nose, stopped again, then finished in a long streak under his left eye. Mabel winced as she sat down on her bed (which had been set up the day before).</p><p>“Oh… okay,” Mabel said, confused at her brother’s nonchalant attitude to what most people would class as an enormous scar. “So how’d it happen?” she said abruptly. <em>Shit,</em> she cursed herself. <em>You don’t just ask someone how they got an injury like that!</em></p><p>“I…” Dipper mumbled, visibly paling. “I – I…” he gulped, then took a breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”</p><p>Mabel bit her lip, a thought rising to her head. <em>No,</em> she thought. <em>I can’t. But he’s my brother, I have to tell him!</em></p><p>
  <em>I have to tell him.</em>
</p><p>She took a deep breath and looked towards Dipper. “I need to tell you something.”</p><p>“Okay?” Dipper said, confused.</p><p>“I started Weirdmageddon.”</p><p>Dipper’s eyebrows shot up his forehead, to point of being obscured by his hairline. “What?” He didn’t sound angry, he just sounded shocked.</p><p>Mabel repeated, “I started Weirdmageddon. It was my fault.”</p><p>“Why? Why did you give it to him?” Dipper said, anger rising in his voice.</p><p>“Waitwaitwait!” Mabel squealed. “Let me explain!”</p><p>Dipper’s expression softened, he was clearly realising that she wouldn’t have just given it to Bill on a whim. “Okay.”</p><p>Mabel’s lip trembled. “After I ran off, I was in the woods and I went into sweater town. Then the time-travel guy showed up and—”</p><p>“Blendin?” Dipper interjected.</p><p>“Yeah, him.” The tension in Mabel’s voice was palpable. “And he said if I gave him the rift he would make summer last as long as I wanted. I gave him it and he broke it. Then I realised he was Bill and then put me in the bubble.”</p><p>Dipper seemed to stare right past her and into space for a moment, before locking eyes with her and breathing heavily.</p><p>“Dipper?” Mabel said in confusion. “Dipper I’m sorry. It was all my fault and—” she cut herself off, frustrated. “Say something!” She wanted him to yell, to get mad. She wasn’t expecting him to say nothing. “Stop being so stoic for once!”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Dipper said, his tone soft. “I can’t get mad at you even if I wanted to. I made the same mistake. So did Grunkle Ford,” he smiled, slowly. “I wish you’d told me sooner, but I understand why you didn’t. I don’t think I could ever work up the courage to tell anyone something like that.”</p><p>“Thank you Dipper,” Mabel gulped.</p><p>Dipper grinned, “you’re welcome.”</p><hr/><p>One Month Later</p><p>Sunlight shone through one of the Mystery Shack’s many windows, bouncing off of Stan’s face. He raised his newspaper up to block it as he walked over to the vending machine. He was about to type the code in when Ford burst through the front door, panting and sweating.</p><p>“Ford?” Stan said. “I need to talk to you.”</p><p>“Yes?” Ford reached up and adjusted his (still cracked) glasses.</p><p>“The mayor called last night about the…” Stan pulled an uneasy grimace as he looked out the window behind his brother. “… damages our recent adventures have had on the town. He’s asked Shandra Jimenez to interview you about it and such.”</p><p>“Damages?” Ford replied, galled. “Don’t work yourself up about it Stanley, it’s minor, nothing to worry about.”</p><p>At that exact moment, Soos opened the door and popped his head through it.</p><p>“Good news Mr Pineses,” he said. “The beanstalk missed the orphanage. I think it hit Toby Determined’s office. Anyway, Soos out!”</p><p>Ford coughed awkwardly. “When did you say that interview was at?”</p><p>Mabel was humming the tune to her favourite song (Don’t Start Unbelieving!) as she dawdled down Main Street, Dipper and Waddles in tow. “This ice cream is amazing Dip-dip!” she exclaimed.</p><p>Dipper took a lick of his own cone, before saying, “yeah, Farmer Sprott set it up after his farm disappeared,” unaware of the fact that he was the culprit.</p><p>“I wonder how that happened?” Mabel said.</p><p>Dipper shrugged. “Mabel, this is Gravity Falls. Some random guy’s farm disappearing isn’t all that big of a deal.”</p><p>“True, true.” Then a question crossed Mabel’s mind. “Have you ever killed anyone?” she blurted out.</p><p>Dipper’s eyes widened. “Eh, well… no!” he stammered before tripping up on a pothole and throwing his cone in the air, falling flat his face. His ice cream landed on his head moment later. He sighed, “… yes.”</p><p>“I thought so,” Mabel confessed as she reached a hand out to him and helped him up. She was pretending that she hadn’t given it much thought, but the opposite was true. She’d had a sneaking suspicion, but hearing it be confirmed was still shocking.</p><p>“Really?” Dipper rubbed the ice cream out his hair.</p><p>“Ye – WHOA!” Mabel yelled as a figure in a long black robe flew above them, the backdraft blowing her ice cream into Dipper’s face.</p><p>“What happened?” Dipper asked after the wind stopped. “I can’t see!”</p><p>Mabel reached over and rubbed the dessert from his face (easing his fear that he’d been blinded) and said, “a floaty woman in a cloak-y thing flew past us on a magic stick. What if she’s a witch?”</p><p>Dipper immediately licked his finger and held it up. “That way.” He pointed in the direction the woman went.</p><p>“What if she’s a witch?”</p><p>“Come on,” Dipper commanded as he ran off.</p><p>Mabel followed, picking up Waddles and  shouting one more time, “WHAT IF SHE’S A WIIIIIIIIITTTTCCCHHHH!?”</p><hr/><p>“Right,” Stan grumbled, coughing into his hand. “If you’re going to do well in this interview, you’re gonna need some pointers. ‘Cos if ‘ya do it without any the people are gonna be chasin’ us ‘outta town with torches and pitchforks. An’ I’m speaking from experience.”</p><p>“… okay?” Ford said.</p><p>“First off,” Stan wiped his hand on his trouser leg. “Smile.” He looked on as Ford pulled the least convincing smile he’d ever seen (and he’d grown up with Filbrick Pines as a father, that was saying something). “On second thought, just smile slightly.” He winced once more, but did his best to hide it. “That’s… better. Kinda?”</p><p>“This isn’t going very well, is it?” Melody said as she walked past.</p><p>“Shaddup!” Stan yelled (in jest, of course). “Right. Let’s do some prep questions.” He coughed a few times and did his best impression of Shandra Jimenez. “Mr Pines I must say, I am incredibly impressed with your work. Tell me, did you say you went to West Coast Tech or Backupsmore?”</p><p>Ford grimaced slightly and bowed his head. “If Pa could see me now,” he muttered.</p><hr/><p>Dipper ran through the Gravity Falls streets, zipping his coat up as he did.</p><p>“Come on Mabel!” he shouted.</p><p>“I’m coming!”</p><p>“Why did you bring Waddles?</p><p>“I couldn’t just leave him!”</p><p>Dipper sighed, “fine, just stay back and give me your grappling hook.”</p><p>“Stay back?” Mabel gawked. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p>“I know, but I don’t want you losing Waddles. Pass me the grapnel!”</p><p>Mabel reached into her sweater and pulled the gun out. She brandished it for a second, before throwing it to her twin. Dipper smiled as he lined up his shot and pulled the trigger.</p><hr/><p>“Good afternoon Gravity Falls,” Shandra Jimenez exclaimed in her usual robotic tone. “Today we have Dr Stanford Pines, who has shown absolutely <em>no</em> regard for public safety during him and his family’s recent adventures.”</p><p>“Ehh, well…” Ford trailed off.</p><p>“These include: the fires from the Phoenix, that dragon he let loose a while back, the giant chair monster and—” she looked both directions then leaned into the camera. “Never mind all that,” she whispered.</p><p>“Hey!” Ford snapped. “That was not my fault! Well not entirely—”</p><p>“Now tell me Dr Pines, what college did you say you went to? West Coast Tech or Backupsmore? I can’t quite remember.”</p><p>Ford bit his lip and seethed internally. On the outside, he was pulling a fake smile. On the inside, he was absolutely <em>livid</em>.</p><hr/><p>Dipper watched as the hook and rope wrapped around the pearl white staff. It’s rider jerked around quickly, two long navy locks of hair hanging out of their hood (which obscured her face). She was a female, some cleavage visible even through her black robe. Her hands were gloved and what was visible of her neck was pale white. Dipper pulled on the gun’s retract button, pulling him off the ground and into the air. As the staff lowered down, he realised that the woman was trying to make him hit a building. He screamed as he retracted the rope again, missing the the biker bar (which was mostly populated by manotaurs) by mere inches. His victory was short lived though, as his foot was immediately smashed into the building that the Crawlspace was located under. He yelped in pain, almost losing his grip on the grapnel. He grunted. He’d told Mabel that it was just because of Waddles, but that wasn’t entirely true. Whilst he didn’t want her to get hurt, he also felt that she wasn’t very experienced. They had gotten hurt a lot over their first summer, but they were amateurs back then. He was more experienced now.</p><p>And also about to be splatted onto the clock tower.</p><hr/><p>“And that’s why the moon landing wasn’t a hoax and the Earth isn’t flat!” Ford yelled.</p><p>“Yes, we know that,” Shandra replied as she was handed another sheet of paper. “This just in, a high-speed chase has occurred on Main Street between the Pines twins and an unknown woman on a flying broomstick.”</p><p>“Of course,” Ford muttered. He immediately jumped up and ran out of the room.</p><hr/><p>“WHOA!” Dipper shouted as he gave the rope a yank, causing himself, the staff and the woman to crash through the newly installed window, a few chunks of glass grazing his face. He landed on the wooden floor with a thunk, something was definitely bleeding. He reached up and felt at his face, his hand drawing blood. There were two cuts, definitely deep enough to scar (all his other cuts had been sealed up by one of Ford’s machines. It still left scars, as evident through his scarred face). He groaned as he grabbed at the window sill to pull himself up, breathing heavily.</p><p>The woman was doing something similar, although she seemed to be having a coughing fit as she did. As she looked up at Dipper, the sun glanced off her eyes, revealing them to be a brilliant green.</p><p>“Stop.” She put both hands up as if to hold him back with the force. “I’m not trying to – augghhh!” she screamed as she was smashed in the stomach by her staff, careening out the window behind her.</p><p>Dipper turned to see Mabel clutching the staff and smiling widely.</p><p>“I’M A WITCH!” she shouted with glee.</p><p>Dipper panted heavily. “Thanks,” he said. “Come on!”</p><hr/><p>Ford sped through the Gravity Falls Main Street, his boots kicking up dirt as he did. His coat flapped in the wind. <em>The kids were out getting ice cream,</em> he thought. <em>Of course they’re out fighting it. That’s fine, Dipper can handle himself. But Mabel… I’ve never seen her in action. From what I’ve heard, she’s good but… I don’t know. She’s not very experienced, and—</em></p><p>Suddenly, a woman fell down from the clock tower and landed in one of the bushes with a crash.</p><p>“Ugh, ow,” she moaned as she got up and dusted herself off. Then she saw Ford pointing a laser gun at her. “I didn’t want to hurt you. But to hell with it. Auurrggh!” She pulled a dagger out of her cloak and jumped at Ford.</p><hr/><p>Mabel pulled her grappling hook from Dipper’s arms and wrapped it around the bannister. She held her hand out grab Dipper, but he didn’t take it.</p><p>“Come on!” she said. “We gotta catch the witch-lady!”</p><p>Dipper said, “go. I’ll get down myself.”</p><p>“… okay.” Mabel grabbed Waddles and jumped into the hole. As she landed on the floor, she ran out and looked up to see Dipper abseiling down the side of the tower. As she was about to help Ford with the witch, (who he was desperately avoiding the knife strikes of) Waddles jumped out of her arms and ran at Ford, jumping on him.</p><p>“Ah! Get off Waddles!” he screamed.</p><p>“Waddles!” Mabel exclaimed as she ran over and grabbed her pig off of Ford, tripping him up as she did.</p><p>The witch smiled as she raised her dagger and slammed it down on Ford’s hand.</p><hr/><p>Dipper watched with fear, frozen in bewilderment. Not at the fact that his idol had just lost a hand or that the perpetrator made off with her staff. Neither was it that he had seen Mabel cause it.</p><p>It was that his dream was coming true.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Good Evening, Mr Pines</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper makes a fatal mistake on his quest for knowledge.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HEY! So, I’m not dead or dying, I just had one of those weeks where I just couldn’t be bothered writing (and I felt like I had to work especially hard on this one, so that just made it worse). I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper Pines was troubled. His dream – well, vision, was coming true. If it was coming true then… what else was in the dream? Loads of identical guys… Stan talking to one of them… The Man in Black. That’s what he called himself. He could use that. He winced as Stan pulled the device from his brow and held a mirror up to Dipper’s face. A scar cut through his right eyebrow and another was on his lower lip, sealed up by the device. He already had his feelings on the rest of the scarring, but these weren’t too big a deal. Well, most would consider them huge, but…</p><p>He wasn’t most people. He never was, really. But that became more true than ever when he came to the Falls for the first time.</p><p>“Thanks Grunkle Stan,” he said, pulling himself up from his chair and clutching his face. It stung like. anything, like someone was dragging a needle across it.</p><p>Stan chuckled, “don’t mention it kid.” He patted Dipper on the shoulder. “Now get ‘ta bed,” his expression darkened. “I got to get back to the hospital. Make sure Ford’s okay.”</p><p>“‘Kay.”</p><p>“Wendy’s gone home, Abuelita’s went to the library and Soos and Melody are out… somewhere. Not too sure, but s’just you an’ Mabel.”</p><p><em>Mabel,</em> Dipper thought, anger rising in his head. “That’s… fine.” He got up, pulling his jacket off of it as his grunkle exited the room. It was kinda funny, the day everything went  wrong was Summerween. He sighed, Mabel had made some huge mistakes in the past, there was no denying that (he had too, but that was besides the point). Weirdmageddon didn’t count. He would never hold that against her. He couldn’t imagine what that felt like. He felt like he had the world on his shoulders at times, but he had never been directly responsible for it’s near destruction. But something nagged at him from the back of his mind. He was slightly ticked off that Mabel hadn’t told him earlier. At the time he hadn’t given it much thought, but now that he did…</p><p>Mabel was selfish. Sure, everyone was selfish sometimes, but this time Grunkle Ford had gotten seriously hurt and the witch had gotten away. If she had just listened to him then none of this ever would have happened.</p><p>“Dipper…”</p><p>Dipper whipped around to see Mabel standing in the doorway, rubbing her neck awkwardly. She stood out like a sore thumb and didn’t seem very… well, she didn’t seem much like his twin.</p><p>“Dipper I’m—”</p><p>“Go away,” Dipper snapped bitterly, cutting her off.</p><p>“M’sorry,” Mabel mumbled, clearly hurt. “I should’ve listened to you.</p><p>“But you didn’t.” Dipper stood up. “You didn’t, and because of that, Grunkle Ford nearly died.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean it!” Mabel shouted, tears springing from her eyes and running down her face. “I didn’t mean want to hurt anyone!”</p><p>A small pang of guilt erupted in Dipper’s chest, but he pushed it aside. “What about all the times I gave up things for you? I gave up my chance to get with Wendy just so you could get your stupid pig! You nearly let Bill frame my <em>suicide</em>for some creepy guy!” Long buried hurt crept into his voice. “I could have died! What about the ‘replacement Dipper’ in the bubble? Remember him?”</p><p>Mabel took a sharp intake of breath, stumbling back a little. She pulled her hair out from behind her back and fiddled with it, twirling her fingers in it.</p><p>“Why do you always have to be so selfish?” Dipper demanded, before realisation dawned on his face. “That’s why you didn’t tell me, isn’t it? You still wanted me to come back to California and live in misery. You wanted me to give up my dream!” he yelled, ignorant to the fact that Mabel had chosen to tell him in his rage.</p><p>Mabel asked, “why do you always have to be so unreasonable?”</p><p>“Oh, I’m unreasonable? Excuse me, Miss ‘I’m going to live in my fantasy world forever whilst my family dies slowly and painfully in THE LITERAL APOCALYPSE’.”</p><p>“You tried to to manipulate Wendy into going out with you multiple times and you’re calling <em>me</em> unreasonable?”</p><p>“AND I’VE MOVED PAST THAT!” Dipper shouted, forever sensitive to his romantic pursuits last summer. He could sense the rage dying inside him and Mabel. “Just leave me alone.”</p><p>“<em>Fine</em>,” Mabel spat, the bitterness in her voice palpable. “I’ll just go trick-or-treating myself.”</p><p>Dipper watched his sister walk out the room. He listened as the door opened, then closed a few moments later. He gritted his his teeth, <em>you have a bigger problem, remember?</em></p><hr/><p>A few minutes later, Dipper found himself laying on top of the copier machine, green light engulfing him. He watched as the newest Dipper clone rose up from the floor.</p><p>“Hey Dipper,” the clone said.</p><p>“… Tyrone?” Dipper smiled as he ran up to his clone and hugged him. “I missed you…”</p><p>“I missed you too.”</p><p>“Wait,” Dipper said, pulling away. “You’re not actually him.”</p><p>“No, I am. I have my memories. And yours. It must have been some sort of glitch.”</p><p>“I missed you so much.”</p><p>“Yeah, but what do we do about the vision?”</p><p>“Oh… yeah,”</p><p>Tyrone pressed his index fingers together, pursing his lips. “We could ask Grunkle Ford.”</p><p>“He’s in hospital high on morphine.”</p><p>“Mabel?”</p><p>Dipper replied in indignation, “no.” He clenched his teeth.</p><p>“What about the Crawlspace?” Tyrone asked. “You can find out anything down there.”</p><p>A smile filled Dipper’s face as he walked out of the room. “Good idea. Wait, what are you going to do?”</p><p>“I’ll stick around for a bit, but I might take a dip in the swimming pool afterwards.”</p><p>“What?” Dipper said sadly. “No, I lost you once before, I’m not losing you again.”</p><p>“I’m you. I’ll always be with you.”</p><p>“No, you don’t understand, it was like—”</p><p>Tyrone cut him off, “like having a brother.”</p><p>Dipper paused for a second. “Yeah.” He ran over to his new twin (triplet, technically) and hugged him, a tear rolling down his face. “Goodbye Ty.”</p><p>“‘Bye.”</p><p>Dipper pulled away and walked out the door, throwing Tyrone a weak smile as he did. He waved goodbye, wiping a tear from his face.</p><hr/><p>Dipper ran through the Gravity Falls Main Street clutching the President’s Key, the cold air whilst king against his face. His mind weighed heavily on the second death of Tyrone, and the argument he’d had with Mabel. Had he overreacted? No, no. It wasn’t like this was an isolated incident. It wasn’t like this was an isolated incident. What about the time Mabel had nearly let Bill murdered him over some dumb boy? He’d found the note a few weeks after the summer ended. He’d spent the rest of the day curled up in the Mystery Shack’s secret compartment, the same as he did after the puppet show. He shuddered, remembering that fateful day. Stan and Mabel had claimed that Weirdmageddon was the hardest thing they’d ever been through, but their respective twins didn’t share that sentiment.</p><p>Ford had confessed to Dipper that his worst memory was the night in the diner, whilst Bill could still possess him. Dipper had read through what he assumed to be his uncle’s breaking point many times in the journal (before they were tossed into the Bottomless Pit). He had intended to save the photocopies, but Ford had burned them before he’d had the chance. <em>It’s time for me to start a new adventure,</em> Ford had said. <em>An adventure with you, Stanley and Mabel. We don’t need those old books, we can start over. We can discover the mysteries of the Falls together!</em></p><p>Dipper smirked. His blue pine tree journal was almost completely filled up with notes and sketches, evidence and anecdotes. But it catalogued more than just the supernatural, it kept track of who he was today, his newfound bond with Ford, his feelings towards Pacifica and his ramblings that he had written after a panic attack. He sighed, remembering writing his first journal entry on the subject. It was just before the summer ended and he’d finally worked up the courage to write about his more memorable experiences (memorable in a bad way). He pulled the President’s Key from his pocket and unlocked the door with it.</p><p>It was at the point when he was a nervous wreck (he still was, but that was besides the point); only a few days after Weirdmageddon, when he couldn’t even bear to be in a room by himself in case Bill came back to kill him. When he could barely write due to a severe case of shaky hands. At the time when he and Mabel never left their room, feeling like it was the only place that was safe. Even if either did leave it, it was for something quick, like going to the toilet. The first time they left the safety of the Shack was for their birthday, a rare moment of tranquility in their otherwise troubled lives. They had went back in as soon as everyone had left and Stan had snuck away to Bill Proof the Pines Family home as Ford talked to Dipper’s parents.</p><p>Dipper had his doubts about his decision sometimes. They use occurred after struggling to interact with normal people, or seeing Wendy hang out with her friends. People used to make fun of him for his birthmark but now they made fun of his scars too, oblivious to the trauma behind them. He’d discover this when he went back to Piedmont for Christmas and he bumped into the kids who used to bully him whilst out on a walk. His breaking point had been when one asked if he’d gotten one of them (the one that started at the base of his neck) from trying to kill himself. He’d actually gotten it in a sword fight with a gladiator from another dimension, but they didn’t know that. Let’s just say that they woke up with a crowd around them the next morning.</p><p>He remembered it bitterly as he made way through the catacombs of the Crawlspace. He looked around, the tunnel of flesh and teeth now behind him. Ford had mentioned someone before, someone who knew everything. What was his name again?</p><p>The Gambler. That was it. One of the most wealthy creatures in the supernatural underworld. He knew everything there was to know. He’d made his fortune through gambling (obviously). Gambling and shady business deals. Stan had always said, ‘If you wanna find a gambler, ‘ya go to Vegas,’ but he didn’t know how to get there, so the casino was probably a safe bet. As he made his way through the dingy corridors, he glanced at the many vendors before closing in on a somewhat fancier door. He walked through and was met with a bright room bathed in yellow light, the crowd of creatures moving constantly. Music played in the background as Dipper made his way to the centre table, pulling his pistol from a jet black holster on his leg. He walked up to the man at the head of the table and pressed the gun into his side.</p><p>The man stiffened.</p><p>“Come with me,” Dipper whispered sternly. “Or the next thing you’ll be betting for will be your intestines.”</p><p>The Gambler leaned over to his wife and muttered something, before turning around and following Dipper to a booth. He was a tall brown cervitaur wearing a black suit jacket over a bright red shirt and tie. He had slicked back tan hair and bright blue eyes framed by sting cheekbones. He had tall cream antlers, tall enough to brush the roof of the booth.</p><p>“Tell me about the Man in Black,” Dipper commanded, keeping his gun in hand under the table.</p><p>The Gambler’s eyes widened for a second, before smiling devilishly. “The Man in Black, you say?” he whispered. “He’s recently resurfaced, I would know. Remember though,” he leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “Everything comes at a price.”</p><p>Dipper, who was leaning back on the cushioned wall, said in disbelief, “everything comes at a price? Did you listen to a word I said back there?”</p><p>“Right, right,” the man smirked. “I have an archive,” he explained.</p><p>Dipper looked at him, puzzled.</p><p>The Gambler elaborated, “of information. I’ll tell you where to go, just search up what you’re looking for. I’ll book you in for eleven pm, go to the woman and say the password.” He quickly pulled a red napkin from his breast pocket and wrote something on it. “Can I go now?” he asked, passing the napkin to Dipper.</p><p>Dipper nodded, before getting up and leaving without a word. If he were to look back, he would have seen the Gambler pulling out his phone, dialling and walking over to a quiet space of the casino.</p><hr/><p>Dipper ran a hand across the back of his head as he walked through the Crawlspace. It was much shorter than during his first summer, particularly on the sides. He’d decided to get a haircut because he thought it would make him look more professional. He liked the idea of a quiff, but because of his birthmark that wasn’t really an option. It was still a tangled mess on the top, but gradually became much shorter as it went down his head. He remembered missing his sideburns when he left the hairdressers, his ears had been cold (they still were). His fringe still covered his birthmark, so that was a plus. Making his way to the door, he pushed it open and walked in. Dusty old books sat on dusty old shelves on dusty old walls. A desk sat in the corner, a rickety till sitting on top. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room, presumably for reading at. A girl about his age with long, chocolate brown hair stood in the centre. She too was a cervitaur, her fur darker than the Gambler’s (who had tan fur).</p><p>“The crowd’s brutal out there, isn’t it?” she asked, walking towards him.</p><p>Dipper’s eyes flicked down to the napkin the Gambler had given him. “Not as bad as the ones on the surface.”</p><p>“It’s a dire place.” Her hooves clacked against the hardwood floor, the sound echoing throughout the room.</p><p>“Weather’s pretty nice.”</p><p>She smiled, “you obviously didn’t come for small talk. What books do you like, adventure?”</p><p>“Action.”</p><p>“Journey?” the cervitaur asked.</p><p>“Sci-fi.”</p><p>“Espionage?”</p><p>Dipper responded one last time, “mystery.”</p><p>“I think I’ve got the perfect book for you then.” The girl handed him a key with a number engraved on it and directed him towards a booth. “Is it really you?”</p><p>Dipper looked back in confusion, as he unlocked the door.</p><p>“The one that defeated Bill?”</p><p>Dipper chuckled, flashing the girl a quick smile. He made his way into the booth, closing the door behind him. He looked at the key and typed the number code engraved on it into the password box. When the Home Screen came up, he typed in, ‘The Man in Black.’ Instantly, an image popped up, the centre of his face covered by a play button. This was it! Curious, he clicked on it.</p><p>“Cain Pryce was an English human born in London, 1678,” an announcer said (reminding Dipper of his TV announcer voice in the story he’d made up when he’d fallen into the Bottomless Pit). “Known as the Man in Black across the multiverse, he is a powerful sorcerer. He disappeared off the face of the Earth when he was forty-five. He has since resurfaced in the small Oregon town of Gravity Falls. Whist he is unable to use his magic on Earth, he is still a powerful threat not to be taken lightly.” The screen suddenly went black, the door locked and white knockout gas began seeping out of a vent.</p><p>Dipper’s eye’s widened as he looked out of the door (which was filled with a huge window). The girl was on the floor, her deer half sitting up like a dog. She visibly gulped as none other than the Man in Black himself stood behind her. He was pointing a black pistol with a long silencer at the back of her head.</p><p><em>No, no, no…</em> Dipper thought, leaning against the door. He grimaced and began banging on the glass.</p><p>Cain stood emotionless, his blue eyes only slightly visible behind his dark glasses. He pulled the trigger, the girl falling to the ground like a rag doll. He quickly unbuttoned his cassock and placed the gun inside. He walked away slowly, buttoning it up as Dipper attacked the glass relentlessly. He was persistent, but eventually, he finally lived up to his name and fell like a pine tree.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel like I should clarify that Tyrone didn’t actually have his memories. He was just trying to be helpful. I’m saying this here because I couldn’t fit it in anywhere else. Sorry for the cliffhanger!</p><p>I’m not sorry.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Heavy is the Head</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ford gets revenge.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mabel Pines was at a loss. A complete and utter loss. The type of loss she hadn’t felt since Dipper left her. Her twin was gone. Missing. Possibly dead.<em> No!</em> she told herself.<em> Be positive. You’re great at that. He probably just got lost in the woods. Then got eaten by the hide-behind!</em> She was curled up in her cupboard, hiding in her sweater and sobbing gently. Suddenly, heard a metallic knock on her door. Looking up, she saw Ford pulling the door open, his cybernetic hand clutching the handle. He handed a her a jug of Mabel Juice<sup>TM</sup>.</p><p>“Here,” he said softly. “Stan said that you live it, so I thought I’d cheer you up.”</p><p>Mabel reached out and gently took the jug from her grunkle’s hands. “Thanks Grunkle Ford…” she mumbled.</p><p>“He’s out looking for him, you know,” Ford stated. “I would be too, but I’m still getting used to this thing.” He gestured at his left hand.</p><p>Mabel placed the jug down and slunk back into her sweater, the sounds of her tears muffled.</p><p>“Mabel,” Ford began. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“What?” Mabel looked up in surprise, her eyes barely poking over her turtleneck.</p><p>“I’m so sorry for all this. For everything,” Ford winced, his joints aching as he sat down fully. “If I had just let Dipper lead a normal life, we wouldn’t be here.”</p><p>Mabel squinted, “he wanted to live here.”</p><p>“Yes, but <em>here</em> is dangerous.”</p><p>Mabel finally pulled her head fully out of her sweater, her hair still caught in the back of it. “He knows how to handle dangerous though. He doesn’t know how to deal with bullying.”</p><p>Ford sighed, clearly not surprised about Dipper getting bullied (Mabel and discovered that Dipper and Ford told each other things they would end be comfortable sharing with their own twins. It kinda hurt when she found out). “I know a fair bit about bullies.”</p><p>“But before we came to the Falls it was only getting worse! And it wasn’t like it was going to get any better.” She bit her lip and looked Ford in the eye for the first time. “He’s happy here. He was always sad and miserable at home. And I tried to take it away from him… I’m a horrible person,” she said, curling into the foetal position.</p><p>“No, no, no!” Ford said quickly, panicking at the escalating situation. “Don’t say that Mabel. You are one of the the nicest people I have ever met.” He hesitated for a second. “Dipper still has this image… that I’m this perfect adventurer. But he’s wrong. I’ve made some huge mistakes, but everyone has. So don’t blame yourself for a mistake, just strive to fix it. You helped me fix Weirdmageddon, my biggest mistake.”</p><p>“But I—”</p><p>“No. All four of us have made deals with Bi – him. You’re not alone.”</p><p>Mabel opened her mouth to reply, but she stopped as the Mystery Shack shook on it’s foundations.</p><p>“Ahh!” Stan screamed from the basement. “Why am I even down here?”</p><p>Ford grimaced, his eyebrows knitting together. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s deal with this.”</p>
<hr/><p>Stanford Pines was a very intelligent man. With the amount of PhD’s he had, it was kind of a requirement. Many people had a similar first impression of him: a curious owl who was far too smart for his own good. Lots saw him as an arrogant arsehole who looked down on those he believed to be lesser than himself. And for the longest time, that was true. He was selfish and incredibly full of himself. He’d never had anything that forced him to reconsider.</p><p>And then he met his great nephew.</p><p>He’d been cold to Dipper at first, but otherwise nice. He had drastically underestimated the boy’s intellect on their first few meetings and pushed him away, even though he just wanted to spend time with him. At the time, Ford had thought that anyone who tried to get close to him was only going to betray him. That’s what Bill had done and it’s what he thought Stan had done. But after a rather eventful game of D,DnmD, he began to reconsider. He went on to put more trust in Dippe than he had in anyone before (other than Bill, obviously). He’d told himself that – other than Fiddleford and possibly Jheselbraum-  Dipper was the only person he could truly trust. It was made expressly clear when Dipper had nearly gotten himself killed twice in one day to save him, once on in the UFO and once during Weirdmageddon. After that, he realised that Dipper was wiser at thirteen than he was a fifty-eight (now fifty-nine). Dipper was wise enough not to throw himself off a roof onto a witch’s magic broomstick, for example.</p><p>Ford – sadly – didn’t share his nephew’s common sense.</p><p>His metal hand clutched the staff tightly, not straining in the slightest. Maybe there were some upsides to this after all.</p><p>The witch on top looked back and shouted, “get <em>off</em> you insufferable twit!” She swung the staff around, wind whipping through her hair.</p><p>Ford grunted, pulling his weight to one side. The staff jolted to the right, the Raven at it’s head smashing into an oncoming building. The two smashed through the window, the glass shattering behind them. Ford’s gun clattered to the floor unnoticed. He looked up slowly, grimacing. He was in a bathroom, a men’s one to be exact. He grabbed at the sink and pulled himself up. The witch was somewhat slower, and Ford’s qucik recovery time allowed him to get the jump on her. He tackled her to the floor, but wasn’t ready for what the witch had in store for him. She immediately reached under the sink and pulled the curved pipe out from under it. After getting smashed in the face with the pipe, Ford rolled out of the way as the witch attempted to attack his stomach. Eventually, he got slow and the witch was on top of him, the pipe pressing into his throat. Ford quickly reached out and tugged at her hair. She yelped and dropped the pipe, but got to her feet quickly. Ford let out a battle cry as he charged at the woman, both smashing through the wall next to the sink. Now on the ground, Ford caught a glimpse of his gun under a stall in arm’s reach.</p><p>But unfortunately, so did the witch.</p><p>The two went for it simultaneously, but the elderly scientist’s strength betrayed him. The witch was once again on top of him, this time pointing a gun at his face. He desperately put pressure on her arms, preventing her from lining up her shot, but it was futile. He was getting old and he had been through the wringer in the past few days. The witch was clearly younger than himself. As firearm closed in on his face, Ford prepared himself for his grim fate. He was al OST happy Dipper wasn’t here, he wouldn’t be able to take it.</p><p>Suddenly the pressure was released from his hands and the witch dropped to the floor. Ford pushed her off his body and grabbed the gun, pointing it at the doorway. Mabel stood strongly, breathing heavily with stun gun in hand. He lowered his weapon slowly.</p><p>“Thank you,” he said, his breaths heavy and laboured. He glanced at the witch. “Let’s take her back to the Shack. Maybe then we can get some answers.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello once again, it’s me; ya boy. I hope you liked the bathroom fight, I worked really hard on it (the original version was about twice as long, but I cut it down). I feel like I should address this, as there are a lot of Mabel haters who think I agree with them and Mabel lovers who probably want my head: neither Dipper or Mabel are right in their argument. They each have a point, but are each wrong at the same time. I’m not going to take a side, I’m going to make sure they reconcile properly. Next chapter is the part one finale! I’ve already written the first draft, it should be out by Monday (I live in the UK, so if you’re in the states, that will be slightly different). Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review. If it’s a criticism, make it constructive please. Nobody likes hate comments and nobody listens to them, so if you have any suggestions that could improve this story, I shall be happy to hear them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Breaking Point</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper finds a new friend and pursues Cain.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper’s prison cell was dark dingy room. The walls, floor and ceiling were made of a horrible, dark grey concrete. The corners were caked in mud and a rat scurried across it’d length. A short, dull, silver chain was attached to the back wall, Dipper shackled to it by a handcuff. His wrist was bleeding, and he was becoming scarily thin. He hadn’t eaten in days. He coughed loudly, the knockout gas clearly had some side effects.</p><p>“I failed…” he murmured, his voice hoarse. “I failed.” He crawled into the corner, curling up into the foetal position.</p><p>
  <em>Failure is not the end.</em>
</p><p>“What? Dipper asked, glancing around the room. There was no one else in there, so who—</p><p>
  <em>Dipper, listen to me.</em>
</p><p>“W-w-h-o a-r-re yo-ou?</p><p>
  <em>Listen to me Dipper. Don’t you recognise my voice?</em>
</p><p>Dipper paused, the voice was right. He did recognise it.</p><p>It was his voice.</p><p>“T-t-t-t-tyr-rone?”</p><p>
  <em>Hello Dipper.</em>
</p><p>“B-b-ut how?” Dipper stammered. “You’re dead!”</p><p>
  <em>I was you. Something went wrong when I died, a part of me survived. Maybe a part of me was copied onto you, I don’t know. But whatever happened happened, what matters that I’m alive. I’ve been her since my death.</em>
</p><p>Dipper shivered, “b-but I just talked to you.”</p><p>
  <em>That wasn’t me. Since you and the clones are connected, I can send a message into their minds. I told him to make sure you went. That’s what he came up with.</em>
</p><p>Dipper pulled at his bangs in confusion. Was he going mad? He hadn’t spoken to anyone since he got here, and that was… he’d lost track of time. It had been at least a week. This was a trick from Cain.</p><p>Or Bill. What if he was back and—</p><p>
  <em>I can see the mindscape, Dipper. He’s not here.</em>
</p><p>“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Dipper screamed and he pulled at his shackle, blood dripping onto his lap.</p><p>
  <em>Failure is not the end. It’s necessary to succeed.</em>
</p><p>“I said: get out of my – huh?” Dipper felt at the corner of the cell and pulled a loose lump of concrete out. He reached in and pulled the President’s Key from the hole. It was spattered in dirt, but the gold shone through.</p><p>
  <em>There’s still a chance Dipper.</em>
</p><p>Dipper cradled the key in his hands breathing heavily. “You’re right,” he said. “There’s still a chance.” He placed it the cuff’s keyhole and gave it a twist. The cuff came lose, his scarred wrist dropping out. He didn’t dare touch it; he’d probably pass out from pain. Getting up, he walked over to the door and unlocked it. He made his way out of the cell and looked around the next room. A fancy desk sat in the middle, papers strewn across it.</p><p><em>Look at this,</em> Tyrone said. Dipper took a sharp intake of breath as his control of his body failed, his clone guiding it over to the desk and picking up a bit of paper. Dipper blinked as he regained his control.</p><p>“What the <em>hell</em> was that?”</p><p>Tyrone responded, <em>I took control of you body. It’s extremely tiring, but it would’ve taken too long otherwise. I won’t do it without asking again, I know you have bad memories of possession.</em></p><p>“Yeah, thanks, Dipper murmured to his twin. <em>I just realised,</em> he though. <em>I have a twin brother!</em></p><p>
  <em>You know, I’m technically not your twin.</em>
</p><p>“What do you mean?” Dipper scanned through the but of paper.</p><p>
  <em>I’m you. I’m a clone, not a person.</em>
</p><p>“No,” Dipper snapped. “You’re Tyrone.”</p><p><em>Maybe, or maybe not, </em>Tyrone mused.</p><p>“The fountain of youth – Tuesday twelve pm.” Dipper reached down and looked at his watch. “Eleven fifty-two.” He looked up, eyes widening. “We still have time.” Dropping the paper, he ran out the door, before stopping in his tracks. He was in a city, one that he didn’t recognise.</p><p><em>We’re close to the Falls,</em> Tyrone said, startling Dipper.</p><p>“You scared me.”</p><p>
  <em>Sorry. I’ll look through the mindscape to find your quickest route, okay?”</em>
</p><p>Dipper nodded in indignation.</p><p>
  <em>See that church? Go up the spire.</em>
</p><hr/><p>Cain walked through the city streets, chuckling to himself as he glanced at his watch. It showed an image of an empty prison cell, the shackles unbound. The boy had escaped.</p><p><em>Good,</em> he thought. <em>Good…</em></p><hr/><p>Dipper burst through the church doors, squinting. He hadn’t seen daylight in quite a while, and it was really bright. He ran down the aisle, then glanced at the people in the pews. He noticed his reverend giving him an odd look, before noticing the coffin behind him.</p><p>He held up his hands in defence. “I am terribly sorry.” He bolted out a door to the side, running up a spiral staircase. As he did, he felt… lighter, almost. Tyrone wasn’t there anymore, presumably looking through his mindscape. It felt odd; only now did he realise that he’d been getting this feeling since the party, since Tyrone died. The feeling dissipated as his brother (he had a brother!) returned to his head. The roof of the church was slanted, but had a walkway at the angle. After being told where to go, he hurried over to the edge, stopping suddenly.</p><p><em>That’s a long drop,</em> he thought. “I don’t have to jump, do I?”</p><p>
  <em>Sorry, but yes. Try not get us killed.</em>
</p><p>“Okay, okay.” Dipper took a deep breath, before jumping the gap. He caught onto the ledge – barely – his weight straining his arms. He pulled himself up onto the ledge and ran through a door. He gave the room a quick glance – it was an office block filled with workers wearing button-up shirts – then tripped, catching himself on a desk.</p><p>
  <em>Go right.</em>
</p><p>Dipper looked around in confusion as the office workers stared at him. “Go right?” he said in confusion, his eyes settling on a window with a long drop. “Now?”</p><p>A female worker stood up, her swivel chair being pushed away.</p><p>
  <em>Yes, now.</em>
</p><p>Dipper leaned over and grabbed the chair. “Thank you.” He pulled back a little, before throwing the chair at the window. The glass smashed with a crack. He jumped up and looked down. It was a long drop, at least three metres. He’d be falling onto a roofed bridge, so it wasn’t like it was going to be soft.</p><p><em>What are you waiting for?</em> Tyrone demanded.</p><p>Dipper snapped, “I’m jumping out a window!” When no response came, he took a breath and let himself fall. He slammed into the roof, the sound of the impact barely audible over the sound of bones breaking. Dipper groaned as he pulled himself up. Something was definitely broken. After jumping down to the ground, he made his way through the streets and into the woods, the mud squelching under his feet as he ran.</p><p><em>Hurry up,</em> Tyrone goaded. <em>You’re so close!</em></p><p>The fountain was in sight. Dipper didn’t know what Cain wanted with it, but—</p><p>He felt a pressure on his back, before he was pushed into the fountain. The corners of his vision caught Cain’s smiling face looking over him as everything went white. When his sight returned, he saw Tyrone reaching into the pool with a concerned expression on his face. Dipper reached out and took his hand, but he couldn’t feel it. As he was pulled out of the water, he looked around, seeing no evidence for Tyrone. What he did see was a dark, dingy cave. He glanced back, expecting Cain to come through the pool at any moment, but he didn’t.</p><p>“Ty?” he asked. Nothing. As he walked through the cave, he contemplated his current situation. Tyrone was still alive, and living in his mind. Why hadn’t Ty tried to talk to him before? Had he been seeing everything he’d been doing for the last year? Had he—</p><p>“Fuck,” Dipper stated bluntly as he exited the cave. The world in front of him was certainly not Earth. It was a large red island, sitting on some sort of giant fossil. He took a deep breath as he took it all in, until his vision went black.</p><hr/><p>Ty groaned as he opened his eyes slowly. Going into the physical plane had sapped his energy; if he’d stayed a second longer it would certainly have killed him. He could barely move, and what little movements he could manage were slow and lethargic. Was this what being drunk felt like? Groaning, he collapsed onto the walls of Dipper’s mindscape, his breaths rasped and laboured. He didn’t even know he could do that. He wasn’t physically there, but Dipper could see him. It had taken a long time to harness his powers, he’d been miserable when he’d first got here. He hadn’t needed to eat when he was alive (it wasn’t like he’d had a stomach or anything), but he didn’t even breathe now. He had no feeling in his body, he was going to be stuck as a twelve year-old forever whilst Dipper got to grow up and pursue his dreams. He still hated this place; he wanted to get out and live. Tracey and Quattro got to live, why not him? Why did he have to drink that stupid cola?! Dipper had intended to keep him safe and keep him as another sibling, and as much as Ty wished it’d worked out that way, he knew it wasn’t possible. He let his head turn, his neck giving in. There was a huge window at the front of the mindscape that functioned as a window to Dipper’s eyes. It was dark, but Dipper’s vision was clearly returning.</p><p>“He’s human!” Ty heard a high pitched, feminine voice say.</p><p>“I’ve never been so excited since… well, the last time!” This voice was a male’s, but still high. “We have to get him to Eda.”</p><p>“Which way is the Owl House?” the girl asked.</p><p>“Just down there.”</p><p>Ty groaned as he slid across the wall and onto the floor. His energy loss was getting worse, rather than better.</p><p>At least they would be safe now.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello once more, and that was the finale to part 2! I hope you liked it, and I did drop in a lot of hints for The Owl House. I mention owls a lot and, hell, the witch from chapters 5 and 7 is Lilith! Part 2 should be out soon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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